Don't Hug Me!

I recently heard, on two separate occasions, members of AA gently chide a group for not having a greeter at the door. Having someone stand at the door saying hello, shaking hands, or even hugging people as they enter isn’t welcoming to me—it’s scary. And that’s how I feel after 17 years sober. If it’d happened to me in my early days of my sobriety I would’ve run like hell. I understand that this is standard practice, even a custom, in some places. Many people feel relieved to be noticed and happy to be greeted directly. It’s a matter of perspective. They did not do this at the meetings where I got sober, and I’m ever so grateful for that. I had never been an extremely social person to begin with, and alcoholism took me even further away from humanity during my drinking.